Removing circuit from Panel?

Hiya Folks, What's the general consensus on "mothballing" circuits to use the amperage elsewhere? I've got a 50A circuit for the range which is unused and am trying to add a 40A circuit for refrigerated air. Just curious to see how that is viewed. When it comes time to sell, is it a problem? Down the road I suppose I'll try to upgrade to a real service (200A probably) but for now and the near future, it's the 100A. Cheers, cc

Reply to
James "Cubby" Culbertson
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It will be a issue at resale time:( depending on wether the potential buyer wants say a electric stove...

just go ahead and swap breakers, reuse slot and plan on a future breaker panel upgrade.

Reply to
hallerb

Is there no empty slot in the breaker box? Why can't you just add the circuit and leave the range circuit alone, since it is unused?

Even if it were connected, it's not good to bake or roast when the AC is on. You're adding heat to the house and then paying to remove it. That's why outdoor grilling is so popular in the summer. Especially before there was AC, cooking in the house in the summer made it even hotter inside.

(Do people remember these things?)

Reply to
mm

Assuming you have a gas range or some sort, to have an unused electric range line in place would be a bonus. Just disconnect it in the panel and use the two slots

Reply to
RBM

I have done this here and my box is jammed:(

When the $ is available I need to go from 100 to 200 amp.

or you could add a sub panel but honestly its not worth it

Reply to
hallerb

No available slots. After I sent this, it dawned on me that I could add the A/C circuit to a subpanel I installed last summer specifically for my

220V tablesaw. I think I'd be pushing the feed into the subpanel if I turned on the saw and the A/C comes on at the same time (both are 20A FLA and the sub is 40A) but it'll work until I'm able to upgrade the service altogether. Thanks much for the comments! Cheers, cc
Reply to
James "Cubby" Culbertson

Thanks. After sending this, I realized I could in fact use my subpanel that I installed last summer. There's a 220V/20A circuit there for my table saw but otherwise, I can install the A/C there. Wish I'd thought of that before I sent the message! So I can leave the range circuit alone. I will plan to upgrade to a 200A service in the future however. Cheers, cc

Reply to
James "Cubby" Culbertson

I am not sure that a 200 amp service would help you much, other than the box will have more breaker positions, but that count is limited by code.

I have only a 100 amp service with a 24 breaker box. Years ago I outgrew the tiny box size and added a subpanel to add breakers. I now have 3 subpanels in my house and much more equipment than you indicate you have. While one panel is a generator transfer panel, the others are just subpanels, and my original main panel is mostly full of large breakers to feed the big loads and subpanels. The subpanels take care of the smaller loads.

I have never had a problem with 100 amp being under capacity as far as power draw, just I have a lot of lightly loaded breakers in my house and need all the panels to hold them.

Reply to
EXT

Paint a really good rendition of an Iranian Tank on the roof, and convince a passing A-10 pilot to shoot at it for about

1/10th of a second.
Reply to
Thomas D. Horne, FF EMT

It's 8 ga, 40 A. The sub itself is rated to 60A I believe. I have 3 slots left. I intend on putting the 40A A/C breaker there as the other breakers see very little use. I'll just have to shut off the A/C if I want to run my tablesaw until I can afford to upgrade to 200A. I don't suppose I can just change the innards in the main panel to make it a 200A can I? I don't suppose I'd gain any spaces that way anyway. Cheers, cc

Reply to
James "Cubby" Culbertson

I'd like to go a similar route but unfortunately, there's really no place to locate another subpanel where all the existing wiring would reach which means I'd be ripping out walls and such. I think I can pull this off within Code but I will have to move some breakers around. I've got a serious imbalance on my phases as it is now (installed by the homebuilder no less). Cheers, cc

Reply to
James "Cubby" Culbertson

Changing the panel does not change the feed. You can buy a larger panel, use the 100A breaker for now, and have more slots. When you have the $$, you can change the entry service and maybe the meter box and have 200A service.

You can also get an Amprobe and see just how much power you are using now to see how fast you will have to upgrade.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I was hoping to not cut up the wall installing a larger can. I don't think that's an option (buying different buses, etc....to fit the existing can to bump up my rating). If I'm going to buy the larger panel anyway, I might as well do it all. I've got a 200A meter, have to measure my feeds from the meter to the main breaker, and confirm with the power company that their feed is indeed ok for 200A. In the meantime, I'm gonna spend $24 on breakers and get this A/C up. Then maybe this fall, I'll put in a real service. Thanks much! Cheers, cc

Reply to
James "Cubby" Culbertson

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